Sacramento Area Local News

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― Buying gasoline is a daily battle for drivers with disabilities. Federal laws are supposed to make that battle a little easier, but does everyone follow those laws?

For most of us, pumping gas is an easy thing to do. Can you imagine having to carve out 30 minutes to an hour every time you need gas?

For people who are disabled at the pump, they don't need to imagine it.

Dani Anderson has independent living mastered, but relaxing and recharging after a full day's work is a piece of cake compared to what happens when she needs to refuel. Despite being in a wheelchair all her life, she's been driving since she was 16.

As she cruises down Sacramento's highways, she knows exactly how much gas is in her tank, because pumping gas can be a nightmare.

"It's at least a 20 minute thing," she said.

Under the American's with Disabilities Act, gas stations are required to help disabled drivers by pumping their gas for them, but there's a catch: If a gas station doesn't have more than one staff person, they're not required to comply.

Sometimes, even when stations do have more than one attendant, they ignore the law. CBS went undercover in the Chicago area and found disabled drivers sitting in their car and waiting for long periods of time.

Despite honking the horn, no one came out to help. That happened at a few gas stations near the Windy City, but would it happen here?

We wanted to see what would happen at a random location where Dani's never been. Right away, we notice the disabled access sticker, indicating the attendant will come out and help, and there's more than one clerk inside.

"Usually, I try to do the intercom first if I can reach it," Dani said.

The button is supposed to be for disabled drivers, but Dani has no chance of reaching it. She moves on to honking the horn, but nobody came out to help after 10 minutes.

"The next step is to look at the building to see if I can see a phone number," she said. She finds the number and calls the clerks, and after giving her what Dani described as "attitude," a clerk came out.

The clerk said he didn't see us waiting, and when we asked him if it should be easier for disabled people to get help, he said:

"No, it's easy right now."

Easy for him to say. We went with Dani to two other Sacramento-area gas stations and get similar results.

"I can't reach this one either, because of this pole right here," she said, and another station didn't even have a button for handicap access.

Disabled driver Catherine Campisi tried a different approach when she went to fill her gas tank at a Sacramento-area gas station. She hit the horn, and when it fell on deaf ears…

"I'm gonna see if I can pull up and catch somebody's attention, because there's nobody coming," Catherine said. She ended up asking another driver to go into the station and ask on her behalf.

That customer went inside to alert the clerk, who came out and helped pump her gas. At another station, she was forced to resort to asking another driver again for help.

What if the customers who helped hadn't been there, or worse: What if they had been the wrong people to ask?

"I'm a real positive person, but sometimes I get scared," she said. "You have to rely on the kindness of strangers so that brings up some other issues."

Dani agrees, saying that relying on the kindness of strangers is easier said than done.

"Honestly, I wouldn't stay at this gas station," Dani said. "I just don't feel comfortable asking someone here."

It's something that very few of us think about as we live our "gas up and go" lives, so the next time you hear a driver honk at the pump, don't jump to conclusions.

Both Dani and Catherine say they really have to plan their day when it's time to gas up. They have neighborhood stations they rely on, but on road trips, they have to call gas stations in advance to see if they offer disabled assistance.

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